Finland has submitted a final set of technical requirements to Brussels obliging gambling operators to provide account transaction data in a standardised format. The development of these rules is part of the country’s preparations for transitioning to a competitive online betting and casino market.
The draft regulation was submitted to the European Commission for review on 2 November. It establishes uniform requirements for the information that licence holders must provide to the regulatory authority. The EU standstill period will run until 3 February 2027, after which the new rules are scheduled to come into effect on 1 July.
For operators planning to enter the Finnish market, the proposed rules will become another element of the regulatory framework accompanying the country’s transition from a long-standing state monopoly to an open market.
From July 2027, private companies will be able to offer licensed betting services and online casinos. However, Veikkaus will retain exclusive rights over certain forms of gambling, including lotteries and land-based casinos.
The new requirements govern the format and content of account transaction records and do not affect the commercial terms under which operators can enter the market.
The document also defines the obligations of online gambling operators regarding transaction record-keeping, setting out requirements for the structure of records, the information they must contain and the deadlines for generating them.
The information will be transmitted through a specialised data repository in accordance with the technical specifications set out in the annex to the regulation. The draft was revised to take into account feedback received during consultations. In particular, the requirement to use a player identifier that was to be assigned by the supervisory authority was removed.
For operators, the new requirements mean that their account management systems will need to be adapted to ensure they can generate all required records regularly and without disruption. This will form part of the technical preparations companies must complete before entering the Finnish market.
The introduction of a common reporting standard will enable the regulator to monitor the activities of all operators more consistently, regardless of the software they use, the products they offer or their business models.
In an earlier notification concerning the transmission of gambling data, Finland outlined the need to introduce a centralised data storage system. The proposed technical requirements were linked to licence holders’ obligations under Section 45(2) of the Gambling Act.
The system is intended to ensure effective supervision of operators. To achieve this, information must be transmitted in a uniform format while meeting the required standards of reliability and security.
Earlier technical submissions from Finland also highlighted that developing separate instructions for each licence holder could lead to fragmented reporting arrangements and inconsistent requirements. At the same time, feedback from consultation participants was taken into account when preparing the regulatory framework, including suggestions aimed at reducing the administrative burden on gambling companies.
Prospective market entrants need to distinguish between the new proposal governing account data and the previously introduced rules on its transmission. Together, these documents define both the information operators must generate and the infrastructure through which the regulatory authority will be able to access it.
The expiry of the EU standstill period on 3 February will mark the completion of a procedural review stage, rather than the launch of the market or the automatic adoption of the draft regulation.
As the proposed implementation date coincides with the market opening in July, operators need to familiarise themselves with the final technical specifications well in advance. A licence will give companies the right to operate in Finland, but their ability to meet reporting obligations from day one will depend on the readiness of their technical systems.
Greater Clarity for Prospective Market Entrants
These developments are helping prospective operators gain a clearer understanding of the conditions for entering the Finnish market. Further clarity has been provided by a recent ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, which examined the taxation of gambling winnings from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
The court ruled that betting activity carried out on a sufficiently large scale and on a systematic basis may be recognised as an activity intended to generate income.
As a result, players are now able to deduct losing bets from their taxable betting winnings. However, the court did not classify such activity as a business under the Business Income Tax Act.
Commenting on the court rulings, Antti Koivula, Chief Compliance Officer at Hippos ATG, whose company has already obtained a licence in the Finnish market, said: “The most significant outcome concerns professional sports bettors. The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that professional betting can qualify as an income-generating activity, allowing losing stakes to be deducted from taxable winnings. In practice, taxation is based on net profits rather than only successful bets.
“The Court reached a different conclusion regarding online slot games, which are based purely on chance. Such gambling was not considered an income-generating activity, meaning losses cannot generally be deducted in the same way.
“However, the Court also eased the taxation of slot players by allowing winnings and losses to be calculated per gambling session rather than per individual spin. The definition and possible duration of a session nevertheless remain unclear.
“Under the new licensing system, winnings from unlicensed operators targeting Finland will also generally be taxable, as they should be. Even professional bettors remain subject to normal progressive income tax on taxable profits.”
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